Illinois House poised to put on quite a hypocritical show

If you want to know how cynical and corrupt Illinois politics has become, you should focus on Springfield today.

Because there in the state Legislature, Chicago machine Democrats and their feeble Republican enablers will put on a thrilling anti-corruption show.

They will beat their breasts and make solemn vows about the public trust, they will talk about honest service, and when they're finished, they will expel one of their own, state Rep. Derrick "Leave It in the Envelope" Smith, the West Side Democrat.

Smith has been indicted on federal corruption charges but has not stood trial. He's allegedly on an FBI recording, counting out a $7,000 bribe, while telling a confederate what to do with the cash: "Just leave it in the envelope."

In a Tribune news story this week, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago — the handmaiden to Boss Michael Madigan — predicted that her fellow legislators will expel Smith overwhelmingly because of his terrible sin.

"This particular example is egregious to the point of going to the core of the oath, the core of the job," said Currie, sponsor of the expulsion resolution and chair of the disciplinary panel that heard the case against him.

Illinois has a history of corruption and cheap chiselers, and they sometimes get caught grabbing the envelope. Then they go away for a few years. These are the minnows. The big guys don't bother with chump change in envelopes. What they pull in couldn't possibly fit in an envelope. They write the laws and use their law firms and other related companies to rake in cash from powerful interests, and they call it a legitimate fee for a legitimate service. They call it legal.

So the core of things today isn't that "Leave It in the Envelope" took 7K. The core of things is something else.

If you pay attention, it will tell you more about politics here than any speech by President Barack Obama, who learned the arts in Chicago. It will explain better than any Mayo Clinic spokesman commenting on the mental state of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. And it will illuminate the landscape more clearly than any op-ed piece by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Because the core of things is that after Smith was arrested on March 13, Boss Madigan had a problem. The March 20 Democratic Party primary election was coming too soon, and he takes no chances when it comes to keeping control of the Legislature. So the machine sent in the clowns to say voters should nominate Smith, even if he was accused of taking the cash and mentioning leaving it in the envelope.

Boss Madigan runs the entire state, but he doesn't stand for re-election statewide. He's voted in as House speaker by state representatives, and he must control them to keep power. Sometimes, extremely delicate mental gymnastics are required.

"We know that our colleague is charged with criminal activity," said U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, the West Side Democrat whose voice could have made him a decent living as Darth Vader. "But we also know that a charge is not a conviction."

So the machine got out the vote, and more than 7,000 Democratic voters did what they were supposed to do in a machine state like Illinois. They voted for the guy who allegedly took the money. They voted as they were told. And Smith is now on the ballot for the November election.

The very next day after the primary, Democrats called on Smith to step down. Madigan could have replaced him easily. But Smith declined. So the hearings were held, and speeches were made, and now the Legislature will dump him. Democrats have already lined up a friendly third-party candidate. But once Smith is booted, he'll need a paycheck, and maybe they'll find him one if he agrees to withdraw his name from the ballot in November.

Smith's political patron is Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. He showed up on WLS-AM last week when I was sitting in with co-host Dan Proft. We asked White about the Smith business.

"We wanted the district to remain in the hands of the Democrat," White said.

And that's all it was. Not the money, not the corruption, just the lever in Boss Madigan's hand. Democrats weren't the only ones making speeches. The Republicans were equally noisy, making grand sweeping gestures with their hands, raising their voices, talking tough but helping Madigan do the heavy lifting.

Smith is accused of taking only $7,000, and the political infrastructure protects him, then tears him apart. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich didn't fill his pockets with treasure either, but Madigan had him impeached and driven from office.

Yet legislators of both parties don't dare say a word about the convicted Republican boss Big Bill Cellini, worth untold millions. Cellini's sentencing keeps being delayed because he's ill and old and scared of federal prison. Caution renders Illinois pols speechless when it comes to Cellini.

And they won't dare challenge Madigan, whose treasure chest comes from a law practice where he reduces the taxes of the downtown real estate interests, those same interests that write fat Republican political checks.

But they'll bounce Derrick "Leave It in the Envelope" Smith quickly today.

They'll explain how corruption has no business in Illinois, as they cover themselves in glory.